Tritium leak at Indian Point

Indian
Point tritium leak 80% worse than originally reported

New
measurements at the Indian Point nuclear power plant in upstate New
York show levels of radioactive tritium 80 percent higher than
reported last week. Plant operator insists the spill is not
dangerous, as state officials call for a safety probe.

Entergy,
which operates the facility 25 miles (40 km) north of New York City,
says the increased levels of tritium represent“fluctuations
that can be expected as the material migrates.”

“Even
with the new readings, there is no impact to public health or safety,
and although these values remain less than one-tenth of one percent
of federal reporting guidelines,” Entergy
said in a statement.

New
York governor Andrew Cuomo raised an alarm last Saturday over the
reports of groundwater contamination at Indian Point, noting that the
company reported “alarming
levels of radioactivity” at
three monitoring wells, with “radioactivity
increasing nearly 65,000 percent” at
one of them.

The
groundwater wells have no contact with any drinking water supplies,
and the spill will dissipate before it reaches the Hudson River, a
senior Entergy executive argued Tuesday, suggesting the increased
state scrutiny was driven by the company’s decision to shut down
another nuclear power plant.

“There
are a number of stakeholders, including the governor, who do not like
the fact that we are having to close Fitzpatrick,” Michael
Twomey, Entergy’s vice president of external affairs, said during
an appearance on ‘The Capitol Pressroom,’ a show on WCNY public
radio.

The
James A. Fitzpatrick plant is located on the southern shore of Lake
Ontario, near Oswego, New York. Entergy said it intended to close the
plant once it runs out of fuel sometime this year, citing its
continued operations as unprofitable.

"We’re
not satisfied with this event. This was not up to our
expectations,” Twomey
said, adding that the Indian Point spill should be seen in context.

Though
it has never reported a reactor problem, the Indian Point facility
has been plagued
by issues with
transformers, cooling systems, and other electrical components over
the years. It currently operates two reactors, both brought on-line
in the 1970s.

In
December, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission allowed Entergy
to continue operating the reactors, pending license renewal. The
facility’s initial 40-year license was set to expire on December
12, but the regulators are reportedly leaning towards recommending a
20-year extension.

By
contrast, Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Pripyat,
Ukraine was only three years old when it exploded in April 1986. To
this day, an area of 1000 square miles around the power plant remains
the “exclusion
zone,” where
human habitation is prohibited.

The
tritium leak at Indian Point most likely took place in January,
during the preparations to shut down Reactor 2 for refueling,
according to Entergy. Water containing high levels of the hydrogen
isotope reportedly overfilled the drains and spilled into the ground.

According
to Entergy, tritium is a “low
hazard radionuclide” because
it emits low-energy beta particles, which do not penetrate the
skin. “People
could be harmed by tritium only through internal exposure caused by
drinking water with high levels of tritium over many years,” an
Entergy fact
sheet says.

Environmentalist
critics are not convinced, however.

“This
plant isn’t safe anymore,” Paul
Gallay, president of environmental watchdog group Riverkeeper, told
the New York Daily News. “Everybody
knows it and only Entergy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
refuse to admit it.”